List of bands named after places

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This is a list of notable bands named after real or fictional places. Bands whose names vary slightly (for example, in spelling, pluralization, or the addition of relatively insignificant terms such as determiners, prepositions, numerals, and synonyms of band) from those of their namesakes are included. Bands named after non-places which are in turn named after places are also included. (The "named after" relation is assumed to be transitive.) Bands with names of places as part of their names (only), such as Hanoi Rocks and The Presidents of the United States of America, are excluded. Bands named after types of places, such as Mountain and Skid Row, are also excluded.

A band may name itself after a place for any combination of the following reasons:

• to indicate geographic origin (conveying pride or authenticity);
• to invoke ideas (such as religious, political, or environmental characteristics) associated with that place;
• simply because the name is "catchy" and sounds good.

[edit] Bands named after real places

• Aberdeen, after the city of Aberdeen
• Aberfeldy, after the Scottish town
• Agent Orange, for their Orange County home, as well as for the defoliant
• Alabama, after the U.S. state of Alabama
• Alabama 3, after the same U.S. state; known as A3 in some countries for legal reasons
• Alabama Thunderpussy, also after the U.S. state
• Alaska!, after the U.S. state of Alaska
• All Saints, after All Saints Road, London
• Alter Bridge, after a bridge on Alter Road in Detroit, Michigan
• America, after the United States of America
• Antietam, after the American Civil War battle at Antietam Creek
• Asia, after the continent of Asia
• Atlanta, after the U.S. city of Atlanta, Georgia
• Australian Crawl, after the nation of Australia. Australian Crawl is also an Australian slang term for the freestyle stroke in swimming.
• Austria 3, after the nation of Austria.
• Backstreet Boys, after Back Street Market, a shopping area in Orlando, Florida
• Barcelona, after the city of Barcelona
• Bay City Rollers, after the U.S. city of Bay City, Michigan
• The Belmonts, after a street in The Bronx
• Beirut, after the city of Beirut
• Berlin, after the city of Berlin
• Bethlehem (Jesus music) and Bethlehem (German band), both after the city of Bethlehem
• Black Oak Arkansas, after the U.S. town of Black Oak, Arkansas
• The Blue Nile, after the Blue Nile river.
• Booker T & the M.G.'s - M.G. stood for Memphis Group
• The Bosstones, after Boston, Massachusetts. See also The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
• Boston, after the city of Boston
• Bush, after Shepherd's Bush, a district of London
• Cabaret Voltaire, after the Cabaret Voltaire, a night club in Zürich
• Café Tacuba, after a hundred-year-old Mexico City restaurant
• Cairo, after the city of Cairo
• Calexico, after the city of Calexico, California
• Chelsea, named after Chelsea, part of London. There were several bands with this name.
• Chicago, after the city of Chicago (originally Chicago Transit Authority)
• Children of Bodom, after lake Bodom in Espoo, Finland, the scene of a yet unsolved triple homicide in the 1960s.
• Chilliwack, after the town of Chilliwack in British Columbia
• Clannad, which means "Clann as Dobhar" and actually translates to "the family from Gweedore," Ireland
• Cuba, after the nation of Cuba (band later became Air Cuba)
• Cypress Hill, after a location in South Gate, California
• The Dresden Dolls, after Dresden, Germany
• Sorry About Dresden, also after Dresden, a city bombed by the United States and other allied forces in World War II
• Defiance, Ohio, named after the city of Defiance, Ohio.
• Dimmu Borgir, after an area of lava formations near Mývatn, Iceland
• Dion & the Belmonts - for the Belmont Avenue neighborhood in the Bronx, New York
• The Distance Between Palau & Tonga
• Dover, named after the town and port of Dover in England, United Kingdom
• Dream Theater, after a now-demolished cinema in Monterey, California
• Dru Hill, after Druid Hill Park, a section of Baltimore, Maryland
• Earlimart after Earlimart, California
• Earth, after the planet Earth (also an early name of Black Sabbath)

• East 17, after the postcode for the London community of Walthamstow (a part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest)
• Easterhouse after Easterhouse, a suburb of Glasgow
• E Street Band, after E Street in Belmar, New Jersey
• Elevator of Love, after an elevator in an apartment block in Brisbane, Australia
• England, after the nation of England
• Europe, after the continent of Europe
• Everything but the Girl, after an old-fashioned furniture shop in Hull, England
• Exit 81, after the Russelville exit on I-40 in Arkansas where the band lives.
• Ezo, after the island of Hokkaido (formerly known as Eizo)
• Flotilla Way, after a road in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Fountains of Wayne, after a lawn ornament store in Wayne, New Jersey
• Geneva, after the city of Geneva, Switzerland
• Georgia Satellites, after the U.S. state of Georgia
• Gondwanaland, after the prehistoric continent of Gondwanaland
• Gorky Park, after Gorky Park, an amusement park in Moscow
• Grand Funk Railroad, after the Grand Trunk Railway
• The Greenberry Woods, after a housing development near the University of Maryland.
• Green River, after the Green River in the U.S. state of Washington (via the nickname of serial killer Gary Ridgway)
• Halifax, named after Halifax, a city in Canada
• Hatfield and the North, named after Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, and more specifically after road signs pointing to "Hatfield and the North"
• Hiroshima, after the city of Hiroshima
• H-Town, after a common nickname for Houston, Texas
• Idaho, after the U.S. state of Idaho
• Idaho Falls after the U.S. city of Idaho Falls, Idaho
• The Iveys after a street in Swansea, Wales (band later became Badfinger)
• Japan, after the nation of Japan
• Jerusalem, after the city of Jerusalem
• Jimmie's Chicken Shack, after the Harlem restaurant frequented by Malcolm X and Charlie Parker
• Kansas, after the U.S. state of Kansas
• Kashmir, after the Led Zeppelin song "Kashmir," which is in turn named after Kashmir, a region of South Asia
• Kilburn and the High Roads, after Kilburn in London, and more specifically road signs to that area
• Laibach, after the former name of Ljubljana, Slovenia

• Leyton Buzzards, after the English town of Leighton Buzzard (though Leyton refers to Leyton, a town in Greater London)
• Leningrad, after the Russian city of Saint Petersburg (formerly known as Leningrad)
• Leningrad Cowboys, also after the Russian city of Saint Petersburg (formerly known as Leningrad)
• Linkin Park, after a park (now known as Christine Reed Park) in Santa Monica, California (spelling was changed from Lincoln to Linkin because the domain name lincolnpark.com was unavailable)
• Little River Band, after Little River, Victoria, Australia
• London, after the city of London
• The Manhattan Transfer, after John Dos Passos's novel Manhattan Transfer, which is in turn named after the Manhattan Transfer train station in New York City
• The Manhattans, after Manhattan, a borough of New York City
• Manitoba, after the Canadian province of Manitoba (now recording as Caribou for legal reasons)
• Marcy Playground, after the playground of Marcy Open School in the U.S. city of Minneapolis
• Mars, after the planet Mars
• MC5, after Detroit, Michigan, the "Motor City"
• Modena City Ramblers, after Modena in Italy
• Mojave 3, after the Mojave Desert^{[citation needed]}
• Monaco, after the Principality of Monaco
• Mount Rushmore, after the U.S. monument Mount Rushmore
• Myslovitz, after the Polish town of Mysłowice
• Nantucket, after the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts
• Nazareth, after the city of Nazareth
• New York City, after New York City
• New York Dolls, after New York Dolls Hospital, a toy repair shop
• Nile, after the river Nile
• Oasis, after the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon, England; or, according to some sources, a nightclub in Manchester (it is plausible that the name is a reference to both places)
• Of Montreal, after the city of Montreal (the band is from Athens, Georgia)
• Ohio Players, after the U.S. state of Ohio
• Oregon, after the U.S. state of Oregon
• Otnorots, a backwards spelling of Toronto (members later formed The Crew-Cuts and The Four Lads)
• O-Town, after a common nickname for Orlando, Florida
• Over the Rhine, after the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in the band's hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio
• Ozark Mountain Daredevils, after the Ozark Mountains, located in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas
• Paloalto, after the preschool attended by singer James Grundler (not after Palo Alto, California, as commonly assumed)

• Pankow, after Pankow, a borough of Berlin
• Pantera - originally Pantego, a Texas town
• Paris, Texas, after the U.S. town of Paris, Texas
• Parkway Drive, after a street in Byron Bay, Australia
• Philadelphia, a Christian hard-rock band named after the U.S. city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Portishead, after the English town of Portishead, Somerset
• Rammstein, after the German city of Ramstein via the Ramstein airshow disaster at Ramstein Air Base in 1988
• Sam Black Church, after Sam Black Church, an unincorporated community located in Greenbrier County, West Virginia
• Sex Pistols, after Malcolm McLaren's wife's shop SEX, and bondage and fetish store in London
• Sing-Sing, after Sing Sing Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Ossining, New York^{[citation needed]}
• Sleater-Kinney, after a road in Lacey, Washington
• Snake River Conspiracy, after the Snake River, a major tributary of the Columbia River, in the Northwestern United States. The name is shared by many other rivers.
• Soho, after Soho, an area of London
• Soundgarden, after the Sound Garden in Seattle, a kinetic sculpture that makes sounds in the wind
• Spagna, after the nation of Spain
• Spain, after the nation of Spain
• Spandau Ballet, the Nazi guards' name for the writhing of prisoners at the Spandau gas chamber
• Sparta, after the Ancient Greek city of Sparta
• Split Enz, spelling of 'Enz' refers to the band's country of origin, New Zealand (NZ)
• Sugarhill Gang, after the Sugar Hill area of Harlem, New York City
• Sugarland, after the city of Sugar Land, Texas
• Texas, after the U.S. state of Texas (via the title of the Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas)
• Timbuk 3, a pun on Timbuktu
• Tokio Hotel, after the city of Tokyo
• Toronto after the city of Toronto
• UK, after the United Kingdom
• Ulan Bator, after the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar
• The United States of America, after the United States of America
• Venice, after the U.S. city of Venice, California, which in turn is named after Venice in Italy
• Wailing Wall, after the Western Wall in Jerusalem
• Waltham, after the U.S. city of Waltham, Massachusetts
• Warsaw, after the Polish capital city (band later became Joy Division)

[edit] Bands named after fictional or mythological places

• Amon Amarth, after Amon Amarth (Sindarin for Mount Doom) in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth
• Evergreen Terrace, after Evergreen Terrace, a fictional street from The Simpsons
• Gorgoroth, after the fictional plateau in Mordor.
• Heldon, a city in Norman Spinrad's novel "Iron Dream"
• Idlewild, after a place in the children's book Anne of Green Gables
• Narnia, after C. S. Lewis's fantasy world Narnia
• Nirvana, after the afterlife.
• Opeth, after the ancient city from the novel Sunbird by author Wilbur Smith.
• The Shangri-Las, after the fictional utopia Shangri-La
• Styx, after the mythological river Styx
• The Fall of Troy, after the city of Troy, which has been proven to be a real city.
• Rosehill Drive, after the street, Rosehill Drive, in Boulder, CO.

[edit] See also

• List of band name etymologies
• List of band names with date references